Music

Listen to ‘Maps,’ the New Single from Maroon 5

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Maroon 5 have mostly abandoned the slightly funkier sound on which they originally made their name for a more straightforward pop sheen, a transformation that continues with “Maps,” the first single from their upcoming album, V.

“Maps,” released today to radio, iTunes and online streaming, finds frontman Adam Levine missing a “taste of the sweeter life” in the band’s return single, the first since keyboardist Jesse Carmichael’s return to the band.

With “Maps,” Levine and co. focus prominently on the search for love, particularly a love that has been lost and needs to be found.

“I was there for you in your darkest times / I was there for you in your darkest night,” Levine sings over understated guitar. The chorus meets with the map theme: “So I’m following the map that leads to you,” he promises as the band converges with a fuller sound, though the breezy guitar lick remains the same.